JP5690951B2 - Battery unit for vehicle - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle battery unit.

  As a vehicle battery unit used in an electric vehicle or the like, for example, the one described in Patent Document 1 is known. In Patent Document 1, a battery unit is disposed below a vehicle floor panel, an air inlet is provided in front of a battery case having a battery housing space for housing a battery, and cooling air taken from the air inlet is placed behind the battery case. By discharging from the provided exhaust port, the battery is directly cooled with cooling air to suppress heat generation of the battery.

  Further, Patent Document 1 discloses that a problem due to condensation is prevented by disposing a water absorbing member above a location where water adhesion should be avoided in consideration of the influence of condensation in the battery case.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-87646

  However, in Patent Document 1, it is described that the influence of dew condensation in the battery case is suppressed by arranging the water absorbing member, but the number of parts increases by the number of water absorbing members and the process of attaching the water absorbing member increases. There was a problem. Therefore, a mechanism that can suppress the intrusion of water into the battery housing space without providing a water absorbing member is desired. In Patent Document 1, no consideration is given to the inflow of foreign matter such as dust from the air inlet into the battery housing space.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle battery unit that can suppress the inflow of foreign matters such as dust and the entry of water into a battery housing space that houses a battery. And

In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1
A battery (for example, a battery 11 in an embodiment described later);
A battery case (for example, a battery case 12 in an embodiment described later) disposed below a floor panel (for example, a floor panel FP in an embodiment described later),
A vehicle battery unit (for example, a battery unit 10 according to an embodiment described later) that cools the battery by introducing cooling air from an intake port (for example, an intake port 33 according to an embodiment described later);
In the battery case, a cooling space (for example, a cooling space C in an embodiment described later) communicating with the intake port is a battery housing space (for example, a battery housing space M in an embodiment described later) that houses the battery. Is formed in a separate space,
The battery is a square battery,
The cooling space includes an upper plate (for example, an upper plate 41 in an embodiment described later), a lower plate (for example, a lower plate 43 in an embodiment described later), the upper plate, and the lower plate on which the battery is mounted on the upper surface. A heat sink (for example, a heat sink 42 in an embodiment described later) disposed between the plate and
The air intake port is located only at a rear portion and an upper portion of the battery case and opens forward.

Moreover, in addition to the structure of Claim 1, the invention of Claim 3 adds to the structure of Claim 1,
The upper plate and the heat sink, and the lower plate and the heat sink are respectively joined by welding.

Moreover, in addition to the structure of Claim 3, the invention of Claim 4 adds to the structure of Claim 3,
The welding area between the upper plate and the heat sink is larger than the welding area between the lower plate and the heat sink.

In addition to the configuration described in claim 1, 3 or 4, the invention described in claim 5
The lower plate is fixed to a vehicle body.

Moreover, in addition to the structure of any one of Claim 1 and 3-5, invention of Claim 6 is provided,
The battery case includes an upper cover (for example, an upper cover 21 in an embodiment described later) and an under cover (for example, an under cover 22 in an embodiment described later) having the cooling space and the battery accommodating space therein. Prepared,
The under cover is fastened to the lower plate with bolts (for example, bolts 66 and drain bolts 68 in the embodiments described later).

Moreover, in addition to the structure of any one of Claim 1 and 3-6, invention of Claim 8 is provided,
The air inlet is located between the battery case and the floor panel.

Moreover, in addition to the structure of any one of Claim 1, 3-6, and 8, the invention of Claim 9 is provided,
A supply / discharge unit (for example, supply / discharge unit 13 of an embodiment described later) having the intake port and an exhaust port (for example, an exhaust port 35 of an embodiment described later) for discharging the cooling air is provided in the battery case. It is attached.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the battery case, the cooling space and the battery housing space are formed in separate spaces, thereby suppressing the inflow of foreign matter such as dust and the entry of water into the battery housing space. be able to. Further, since the battery case is disposed below the floor panel, the center of gravity of the vehicle can be lowered.
In addition, by mounting the battery on the upper plate that forms the cooling space, the number of parts can be reduced, and the manufacturing can be facilitated at low cost.
Moreover, inflow of foreign matters such as dust into the cooling space and entry of water can be suppressed.

  According to invention of Claim 3, a different member can be reliably and easily fixed by joining by welding.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, by increasing the welding area on the upper plate side on which the battery is mounted than on the lower plate side, the heat transfer area becomes larger on the upper plate side, thereby reliably cooling the battery. be able to.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, by fixing the lower plate to the vehicle body, the battery case can be securely fixed to the vehicle body as compared with the case of fixing the upper plate to the vehicle body. In addition, the lower plate can be prevented from peeling off.

  According to invention of Claim 6, the volt | bolt which fastens an undercover and a lower plate can be functioned as a drain volt | bolt.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to suppress the inflow of foreign matters such as dust and the entry of water into the cooling space.

  According to the ninth aspect of the invention, the supply / exhaust unit having the intake port and the exhaust port is separated from the battery case, so that the degree of freedom in arrangement and the handleability can be improved.

It is a figure which shows the state which mounted the battery unit of one Embodiment which concerns on this invention in the vehicle. It is a fragmentary sectional view of the battery unit of the state mounted in the vehicle. It is a disassembled perspective view of a battery unit. It is a disassembled perspective view of a heat sink assembly. It is a fragmentary perspective view of the cooling part of a heat sink. (A) is the figure which looked at the upper plate where the heat sink was welded from the upper part, (b) was the figure which looked at the lower plate where the heat sink was welded from the lower part. It is a disassembled perspective view of the frame structure and battery unit of the vehicle shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the example which comprised the volt | bolt which fastens a lower plate and an under cover as a drain volt | bolt.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a vehicle battery unit 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is disposed in an underfloor space S located below a floor panel FP of a vehicle, for example, an electric vehicle EV. The underfloor space S is partitioned from the cabin CA via the floor panel FP. In addition, as a vehicle, various vehicles which can be driven by a motor such as a hybrid vehicle in addition to an electric vehicle can be adopted.

  The battery unit 10 includes a battery 11, a battery case 12 that houses the battery 11, and a supply / discharge unit 13 that is attached to the rear and upper part of the battery case 12.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the battery case 12 has an outer shell formed of an upper cover 21 and an under cover 22, and a heat sink assembly is formed in the internal space of the battery case 12 formed by the upper cover 21 and the under cover 22. 23 is provided. The internal space of the battery case 12 is partitioned into a battery housing space M that houses the battery 11 and a cooling space C into which cooling air is introduced. At the rear part of the upper cover 21, a pair of exhaust communication parts 21a and 21a (only one is shown) communicating with the cooling space C are formed in both ends, and the intake communication part 21b opens at the center part. (See FIG. 2). The pair of exhaust communication portions 21 a and 21 a and the intake communication portion 21 b are connected to the supply / discharge unit 13 attached to the battery case 12.

  The supply / discharge unit 13 is located on both sides of the intake passage 31 and the exhaust passages 32 and 32 that are located on both sides of the intake passage 31 and communicate with the exhaust communication portions 21a and 21a of the upper cover 21, respectively. Are unitized and attached to the rear and upper parts of the battery case 12. The supply / discharge unit 13 is also disposed in the underfloor space S in the same manner as the battery case 12.

  In the intake passage 31, an intake port 33 that is an inlet of the intake passage 31 is located in front of the supply / discharge unit 13 and opens toward the front of the vehicle. A suction cooling fan (not shown) is mounted inside the exhaust passages 32 and 32, and an exhaust port 35 (only one is shown) that is an outlet of the exhaust passages 32 and 32 is provided at the rear of the supply / exhaust unit 13. Located in the vehicle width direction outside.

  Therefore, the cooling air taken in from the intake port 33 is supplied to the cooling space C from the intake communication portion 21b of the upper cover 21 through the intake passage 31, and conversely, the cooling air from the cooling space C is supplied to the upper cover 21. Are exhausted from the exhaust ports 35 and 35 through the exhaust passages 32 and 32.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the heat sink assembly 23 provided in the battery case 12 includes an upper plate 41, a heat sink 42, and a lower plate 43, which are arranged in this order from above, and an upper surface 41 a of the upper plate 41 is arranged on the upper side. A battery housing space M is formed facing the back surface 21c of the cover 21 (see FIG. 1).

  A rectangular frame 44 is attached to the upper surface 41a of the upper plate 41, and a plurality of batteries 11 are mounted thereon. In front of the upper plate 41, a pair of openings 41b and 41b are formed on both sides in the width direction (see also FIG. 6A). In addition, an opening 41c that communicates with the intake communication portion 21b of the upper cover 21 is formed at the rear end portion of the upper plate 41 at the center in the width direction, and the exhaust communication portions 21a and 21a of the upper cover 21 are formed on both sides in the width direction. A pair of communication openings 41d and 41d are formed.

  The lower plate 43 has substantially the same shape as the upper plate 41, and forms a cooling space C by the lower surface 41e of the upper plate 41 and the upper surface 43a of the lower plate 43 (see FIG. 1). In front of the lower plate 43, openings 43b and 43b are formed at positions corresponding to the openings 41b and 41b of the upper plate 41 (see also FIG. 6B), and 12V / DC housings 46 and 46 are assembled respectively. .

  Through a pair of openings 41b and 41b formed in the upper plate 41, the 12V / DC housings 46 and 46 are exposed to the cooling space C, and access to a 12V battery (not shown) housed together with the battery 11 in the battery housing space M from the outside. Configured to be possible. A pair of openings 41b and 41b formed in the upper plate 41 are closed by 12V / DC housings 46 and 46, and a battery formed by the upper surface 41a of the upper plate 41 and the rear surface 21c of the upper cover 21. The accommodation space M, and the cooling space C formed by the lower surface 41e of the upper plate 41 and the upper surface 43a of the lower plate 43 do not communicate with each other and form independent spaces.

  A heat sink 42 is provided in the cooling space C formed by the lower surface 41 e of the upper plate 41 and the upper surface 43 a of the lower plate 43. The heat sink 42 is made of, for example, stainless steel, and as shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of convex portions 52 and concave portions 53 are continuously formed in a wave shape. By forming the heat sink 42 in a wave shape with a plurality of convex portions 52 and concave portions 53, the contact area with the cooling air can be increased. Moreover, the welding spot mentioned later is ensured by making the upper surface of the convex part 52 and the lower surface of the recessed part 53 into a flat surface.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the heat sink 42 and the upper plate 41 are firmly bonded by welding the lower surface 41e of the upper plate 41 and the convex portion 52 of the heat sink 42 in contact with the lower surface 41e of the upper plate 41. To be joined. Reference numeral 61 represents a welding spot.

  On the other hand, the heat sink 42 and the lower plate 43 are welded to the upper surface 43a of the lower plate 43 and the recess 53 of the heat sink 42 in contact with the upper surface 43a of the lower plate 43, as shown in FIG. Strongly joined. Reference numeral 62 represents a welding spot.

  By welding the heat sink 42 and the upper plate 41, and the heat sink 42 and the lower plate 43, different members can be reliably and easily fixed. Here, the welding area between the upper plate 41 and the heat sink 42 is larger than the welding area between the lower plate 43 and the heat sink 42. This is because the welding between the lower plate 43 and the heat sink 42 increases the rigidity by joining both members, whereas the welding between the upper plate 41 and the heat sink 42 increases the rigidity by joining both members. This is because the purpose is to increase the thermal conductivity between the upper plate 41 and the heat sink 42 in addition to the increase. As a result, the heat transfer area is larger on the upper plate 41 side than on the lower plate 43 side. Accordingly, the cooling air taken from the air inlet 33 of the supply / discharge unit 13 contacts the heat sink 42 to cool the heat sink 42, whereby the battery 11 is cooled via the upper plate 41. Thereafter, the air is guided to the exhaust passages 32, 32 of the supply / discharge unit 13 through a pair of openings 41 d, 41 d formed in the upper plate 41.

  Below the lower plate 43, the under cover 22 is fastened with bolts 66 so as to cover the entire lower surface of the lower plate 43. A nut 67 is fixed in advance to the lower plate 43 at a position where the bolt 66 is inserted. The bolt 66 is screwed into the nut 67 from the lower surface side of the under cover 22, so that the under cover 22 is attached to the lower plate 43. Fixed. The upper cover 21 is fixed to the peripheral portions of the upper plate 41 and the lower plate 43 with bolts (not shown).

  The battery unit 10 thus configured is fixed to the vehicle body before the under cover 22 is fastened to the lower plate 43 with the bolts 66.

  FIG. 7 shows a frame structure 70 that forms the skeleton of the lower part of the vehicle body, and the battery unit 10 attached to the frame structure 70. Although not shown in FIG. 7, the floor panel FP is fixed above the frame structure 70 by welding.

  The frame structure 70 includes a pair of left and right side members 71, 71 extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body, and cross members 72, 73, 74 extending in the vehicle width direction. The cross members 72, 73, 74 are fixed to predetermined positions of the side members 71, 71 by welding.

  Fastening portions 75a and 75a are provided on the side members 71 and 71 between the front cross member 72 and the central cross member 73, respectively. The central cross member 73 is provided with fastening portions 75b, 75b, 75b between the side members 71, 71. Fastening portions 75c and 75c are provided on the side members 71 and 71 between the central cross member 73 and the rear cross member 74, respectively. The rear cross member 74 is provided with fastening portions 75d and 75d at both ends.

  Support brackets 81, 82, 83 extending in the vehicle width direction are arranged on the lower surface 43c of the lower plate 43 so as to protrude from both sides of the lower plate 43, and at both ends of the support brackets 81, 82, 83, A pair of bolt fastening holes 84, 84 are provided respectively. The front support bracket 81 is fastened to the fastening portion 75a by a bolt 85, the center support bracket 82 is fastened to the fastening portion 75c by the bolt 85, and the rear support bracket 83 is fastened to the fastening portion 75d by the bolt 85. The front support bracket 81 has a plurality of fastening holes 88 formed between the bolt fastening holes 84 at both ends in the vehicle width direction, and is fastened to the lower plate 43 with bolts 89.

  The lower plate 43 is formed with three fastening holes 43d, 43d, 43d in the vehicle width direction at positions corresponding to the central cross member 73. The fastening holes 43d, 43d, 43d on the lower surface 43c of the lower plate 43 are formed. Around the periphery, a substantially rectangular rigid plate 93 is provided. The heat sink 42 has through holes (not shown) at positions corresponding to the fastening holes 43d, 43d, 43d of the lower plate 43. Fastening holes 41f, 41f, 41f (see also FIG. 4) are formed in the upper plate 41 at positions corresponding to the fastening holes 43d, 43d, 43d of the lower plate 43, and around the fastening holes 41f, 41f, 41f. Each includes a disk-shaped cup 90 and a hollow collar 91 positioned on the cup 90. The upper cover 21 is formed with a recess 21e for accommodating the central cross member 73 at a position corresponding to the central cross member 73, and a fastening hole (not shown) at a position corresponding to the fastening holes 43d, 43d, 43d of the lower plate 43. Is formed. Then, the bolt 95 is inserted into the fastening holes 43d, 43d, 43d via the rigid plate 93 from the lower surface 43c side of the lower plate 43, so that the bolt 95 passes through the through-hole of the heat sink 42 and the collar 90. And is fixed to the fastening portion 75b of the central cross member 73.

  As the lower plate 43 is fixed to the frame structure 70 of the vehicle body in this way, the battery unit 10 is supported in the underfloor space S located below the floor panel FP so as to be substantially parallel to the ground. Therefore, the battery case 12 can be securely fixed to the vehicle body as compared with the case where the upper plate 41 is fixed to the vehicle body, and the heat sink 42 and the lower plate 43 can be prevented from peeling from the upper plate 41.

  Note that at least one of the bolts 66 that fasten the lower plate 43 and the under cover 22 is preferably configured as a drain bolt 68. In this case, as shown in FIG. 8, the lower plate 43 to which the drain bolt 68 is fixed is formed with a recessed recess 43f accommodated in the recess 22b formed in the under cover 22, A nut 67 is fixed in the reservoir 43f. Therefore, even if a fluid such as water enters the cooling space C, the fluid such as water is accumulated in the storage portion 43f. Then, by removing the drain bolt 68 from the nut 67, the fluid stored in the storage portion 43f can be discharged from the bolt fastening hole 22a of the under cover 22 to the outside of the battery unit 10.

  In the battery unit 10 of the present embodiment configured as described above, the cooling space C becomes negative pressure with respect to the intake port 33 by a cooling fan (not shown) provided in the exhaust passages 32, 32 of the supply / exhaust unit 13. Therefore, external air is taken in as cooling air from the intake port 33, and the taken-in cooling air passes through the intake passage 31, passes through the intake communication portion 21 b of the upper cover 21, and the opening 41 c of the upper plate 41, thereby cooling space C. To be supplied.

  The cooling air flowing into the cooling space C contacts the heat sink 42 to cool the battery 11 via the welding spot 61 of the upper plate 41. The cooling air passes through a pair of openings 41d and 41d formed in the upper plate 41 and is led to the exhaust communication portions 21a and 21a of the upper cover 21 and the exhaust passages 32 and 32 of the supply / exhaust unit 13. 35 and 35 are discharged.

  At this time, since the battery housing space M and the cooling space C are formed in separate spaces in the battery case 12, even if foreign matter such as dust flows from the air inlet 33, Even if it has entered, foreign matter and water are prevented from entering the battery housing space M.

In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, A deformation | transformation, improvement, etc. are possible suitably.
That is, the present invention can employ any configuration as long as the battery housing space M and the cooling space C are formed in separate spaces within the battery case 12.

  In addition, this application is based on the Japanese patent application (Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-248900) of an application on November 14, 2011, The content is taken in here as a reference.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Battery unit 11 Battery 12 Battery case 13 Supply / discharge unit 21 Upper cover 22 Under cover 33 Inlet port 35 Exhaust port 41 Upper plate 42 Heat sink 43 Lower plate FP Floor panel C Cooling space M Battery accommodation space

Claims (7)

Battery,
A battery case that houses the battery and is disposed below the floor panel;
A vehicle battery unit that cools the battery by introducing cooling air from an air inlet,
In the battery case, the cooling space communicating with the air inlet is formed in a separate space from the battery housing space for housing the battery,
The battery is a square battery,
The cooling space includes an upper plate for mounting the battery on an upper surface, a lower plate, and a heat sink disposed between the upper plate and the lower plate,
The vehicle battery unit, wherein the intake port is located only at a rear part and an upper part of the battery case and opens forward.   The vehicle battery unit according to claim 1, wherein the upper plate and the heat sink, and the lower plate and the heat sink are joined by welding.   The vehicle battery unit according to claim 3, wherein a weld area between the upper plate and the heat sink is larger than a weld area between the lower plate and the heat sink.   The vehicle battery unit according to claim 1, wherein the lower plate is fixed to a vehicle body. The battery case includes an upper cover having the cooling space and the battery housing space therein, and an under cover.
The vehicle battery unit according to claim 1, wherein the under cover is fastened to the lower plate with a bolt.   The vehicle battery unit according to any one of claims 1 and 3 to 6, wherein the intake port is located between the battery case and the floor panel.   The supply / exhaust unit having the intake port and an exhaust port for discharging the cooling air is attached to the battery case. Vehicle battery unit.

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